Results 5,581-5,600 of 5,918 for speaker:Gerard Craughwell

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Farm Safety: Discussion (23 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Very quickly. First, on the quad bikes, we are now back where we were with tractors in the 1960s, with regard to what happens if one of those rolls over and a person is trapped under it. Second, I was referring to 12 to 15 year olds using heavy farm machinery on the land, not on the road.

Seanad Public Consultation Committee: Farm Safety: Discussion (23 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I take the ICMSA's point about having so many days accident free. Maybe a sign like that is not quite the way of getting it across. However, I think there should be very visible signage around farms, in particular for people like myself who visit farms but who have no great knowledge of the dangers of the machinery, of slurry tanks and so on. In regard to the Irish Cattle and Sheep...

Seanad: Misuse of Drugs (Amendment) Bill 2015: Second Stage (Resumed) (11 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Cuirim fáilte roimh an Aire. I want to congratulate the Minister for bringing in this legislation so fast to fill a loophole. In particular, I want to acknowledge the work that must have been done in his Department by civil servants burning the midnight oil to write this legislation. It raises some concerns for me that no doubt there are people employed all over the country now...

Seanad: Order of Business (10 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I support my former colleagues in St. Angela's College in Sligo, who are on strike today. I believe this strike has been brought about as a result of a failure to engage in discussion with respect to the takeover of St. Angela's College by NUIG. The issue I rise to speak on is one I had hoped I had put behind me many years ago and one I hoped I would never again have to face but late last...

Seanad: Ambulance Services in Dublin: Statements (10 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I support Senator Power with respect to the Dublin ambulance service. Having had the pleasure or displeasure to travel in the back of ambulances run by both the health service and by the fire service, I have always been well looked after and I would be slow to change the existing system. I live where I live purely because it is close to St. Vincent's University Hospital should I need to go...

Seanad: Order of Business (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Hear, hear.

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I am delighted to add my name and voice to the other voices in this House. I smoked my first cigarette when I was 12 years old. By the time I qualified to smoke properly I was able to smoke 100 cigarettes a day. In fact, there were times when I got up in the middle of the night to smoke a cigarette. The great legacy with which that habit has left me is three lesions from coronary artery...

Seanad: Public Health (Standardised Packaging of Tobacco) Bill 2014: [Seanad Bill amended by the Dáil] Report and Final Stages (3 Mar 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Thankfully, I can no longer see stacks of cigarettes.One of the great things the Minister is about to introduce is plain packaging, because when the packaging goes, my desire to have that recognisable box in my hand may cease. It is 15 years since I held such a recognisable box. My desire to have that box in my hand may cease when the colour or whatever else is on the package that attracts...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I join everyone else in congratulating the Ireland cricket team. It is a great day for the country. I wish to raise concerns regarding plans to reduce the number of firefighters by one or two per fire appliance.Members of our fire service place themselves in peril daily to serve the needs of their communities. Reducing the numbers on fire appliances places communities and the firemen...

Seanad: Order of Business (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Can the Minister come into the House?

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: Amendment No. 55 is similar to the one moved by Senator Reilly, which I support. A fine of €2,000 is hardly likely to deter an employer from paying less than the national minimum wage. If the fine was set at €20,000 per employee, it could amount to a fairly substantial sum if an employer was underpaying several staff. That would be a deterrent. Social welfare transfers are...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I hope my colleagues will forgive me if, as a good trade unionist, I oppose amendment No. 58. While I fully understand the need to support entrepreneurship, we do not want companies to be built on the back of cheap labour. I know Senator Quinn will forgive me for my opposition.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I hope he will.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I have been involved in several Labour Court hearings and cases before Rights Commissioners and where the information is available beforehand, the cases are frequently settled and never get to a hearing. I support Senator Norris.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I agree with my colleague. I fully understand where the Minister is coming from. Mediation requires commitment and honesty on both sides but there is no difficulty in having the officer running the case use his or her discretion to request both sides to begin exchanging documentation. That would not demean or work against the mediation process. It is no different from a High Court judge...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: We are not trying to provide for compulsion but to leave the discretion to the mediation officer to request the parties to cut the messing, exchange documents and see where they are. I understand from where the Minister is coming. On the one hand, it in a way argues against mediation but on the other hand, it gives that discretionary power to the mediator. That is why I support the...

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: The word "may" is there.

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: I may come back on Report Stage with that slightly amended to take out the word "direct".

Seanad: Workplace Relations Bill 2014: Committee Stage (Resumed) (25 Feb 2015)

Gerard Craughwell: As Senator Norris has stated, the reference to trade union representation should be retained. Our concern in bringing forward the proposal was the awareness that migrant workers, in particular, might not necessarily have such representation. With Senator Norris's permission, I will withdraw amendment No. 71 and resubmit it on Report Stage in a new format which refers both to a trade union...